Proposition H Advisory #8 - 3/12/01

Proposition H Advisory #8 - 3/12/01On March 6, 2001, the Rent Board Commissioners voted 3-2 to approve the proposed amendments to the Rent Board"s Rules and Regulations for implementing Proposition H. However, these amended regulations will NOT go into effect unless and until the Court"s stay of implementation of Proposition H in Quigg vs. City and County of San Francisco, et al., Superior Court Case Number 316928, is no longer in effect. The next step is for the City Attorney to bring the regulations to the Court in Quigg, as part of the Court"s consideration in determining the legality of Proposition H. The City Attorney expects to file court papers before the end of March, requesting that the Court lift its stay of implementation of Proposition H.

In other news, the Board of Supervisors has passed a temporary moratorium ordinance prohibiting the Rent Board and staff from processing or approving landlord capital improvement petitions until the stay is lifted in Quigg, except for petitions which seek only certification and passthrough of seismic retrofit work. (Administrative Code Section 37.8C.) This temporary moratorium ordinance became law on March 2, 2001 (after the Mayor did not either sign or veto the ordinance as passed by the Board of Supervisors), and will go into effect in 30 days. Therefore, the Rent Board will begin implementing this Board of Supervisors temporary moratorium ordinance in 30 days, on April 1, 2001.

Also on March 6th, the Rent Board Commissioners (on a 2-2 vote, with the fifth member excused from voting) did not approve a motion by one of the Rent Board members that would have instructed staff to immediately stop processing or approving (non-seismic retrofit) capital improvement petitions (instead of waiting until April 1st).

Up-to-Date Information on Implementation of Proposition H

Information concerning the Rent Board"s development of forms, regulations and procedures, as well as the status of legal actions to challenge Proposition H, may be obtained from the Rent Board in the following ways:

Web site: www.ci.sf.ca.us/rentboard/ under "What"s New"

24-Hour Recorded Information Line: 415.252.4600, Menu No. 46, "Proposition H-Current Status"

Fax Back: 415.252.4660, Document Number 014, "What"s New/Amended"

We will keep the information available from these resources current. Should you have questions that are not answered in these resources, you can also call our counseling staff at 415.252.4602 from 9-12 am and 1-4 pm, Monday through Friday.